CPS to restrict game attendance

League's away games barred to fans in a bid to cap violence

January 24, 2009|By Carlos Sadovi and Bob Sakamoto, TRIBUNE REPORTERS

Faced with a recent rash of shootings and fistfights spurred by high school basketball games that left six students shot and others injured, Chicago Public Schools officials Friday cracked down on unruly crowds by restricting who can attend games.

Fans won't be allowed to attend away games, parents will have to get permission to watch their teens play at other schools, and it's possible no one will get to see a few particularly heated rivalries. Starting times for varsity games also will be moved up to 4 p.m. The changes, which take effect Monday, apply to boys and girls games.

The district's decision upset some parents, including Ericka Davis. Her son, Jermaine Winfield of North Lawndale College Prep, was shot Tuesday during an altercation following a game against ACT Charter at Collins High School.

"I'm all for a child's safety, but I can't agree with that [policy]. I want to see my son's games. How can they keep me away from watching my son play?" said Ericka Davis, adding she doesn't think she should have to apply for permission to go. "The big issue here is the lack of security."

If anyone understands the changes, it's Winfield, who still has the bullet from a small-caliber handgun lodged in his thigh. Winfield, 16, was on the bench Thursday to watch his teammates defeat host Marshall. Moments after the victory, a brawl between two female fans broke out in the stands, and police responded.

"It's going to be harder to win a game at someone else's home court. The home crowd gets the home team's players pumped up," Winfield said. "If we have to play with no fans, that's going to be weird."

While the district's new policies represent perhaps its strictest crackdown, authorities have been dealing with the issue of violence at games off and on for more than 40 years.

During the civil unrest and racial strife of the 1960s, varsity basketball games started at 3:15 p.m., said Calvin Davis, the district's director of sports administration. That lasted through the mid-1980s.

In early 2003, then-district CEO Arne Duncan, who recently left to become U.S. education secretary under President Barack Obama, encouraged principals to limit attendance to students and their relatives following a fight in the bleachers at Crane High School. At the time, schools were hiring private security for games following a Chicago Police Department money-saving decision to stop assigning officers to games.

While district officials say that its crowd-control policy has been on the books for at least 12 years, it was not enforced, Calvin Davis said. Principals often looked the other way when visiting fans showed up, but under the latest crackdown the district is calling on principals to stop the practice.

The crackdown covers the rest of the regular season, which ends Monday, and the first two Public League playoff rounds, Davis said. The final three playoff rounds will be played at local universities, which are exempt from the bans. The plan calls for students to present their school identification cards to watch a game and parents who are visiting a school to watch their children will require permission from principals.

"I would prefer that no one from the visiting team attends the game, I believe the safety of our kids has to come first," Davis said.

Peter Fosco, athletic director at Schurz High School, said earlier start times may present problems because the district does not offer bus service to get students to schools at the earlier times. Varsity games currently begin about 6 p.m. with freshman and sophomore squads starting earlier. Like most parents interviewed, Fosco said security at games should be beefed up.

"It's sad to say but we definitely need help from the Chicago police to show a presence before and after games, that's how things are going right now," he said.

Davis, who met with the Police Department's top brass Friday, said there are about six district security officers -- some of whom may be off-duty Chicago police -- assigned to "high-alert" games where tensions are running high.

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Recent rash of violence

Jan. 9: Five people were wounded when gunmen opened fire from a truck outside Dunbar Vocational Career Academy during a game against Hope College Prep. A sixth person was reportedly injured when she was trampled. The contest, which was about to enter the third overtime period, immediately was canceled.

Tuesday: Jermaine Winfield, a junior basketball player at North Lawndale College Prep, was shot in the leg after an altercation following his team's 76-47 victory over ACT Charter at Collins High School -- Lawndale's home court. Winfield, 16, was released from the hospital a day later with the bullet from a small-caliber handgun still lodged in his thigh.

Tuesday: Simeon's 51-38 victory at Bogan was tainted when a fight broke out in the stands. The game was called with 5 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Chicago police and security personnel restored order quickly, and no injuries were reported.

Thursday: With Winfield watching from the bench, North Lawndale defeated Marshall 66-63. But a post-game fight between two female students turned into a bigger disturbance, with a police call for assistance resulting in eight squad cars and two wagons dispatched to Marshall. Order was restored, and no injuries were reported.